tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72224600262767996452024-03-05T16:26:23.269-08:00The Soaring LaboratoryMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-25070315517157407722013-04-30T09:29:00.000-07:002013-04-30T22:16:37.298-07:00Flying the ASH-25 with Kempton Izuno<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-JAxahRKQCEFg4XWhmdY9tGgBI20O8Wu-eNtx2EtM4WtR7ztDZXoDgCXK-8lYduRPsQxApbHqRRDbLsZeSZkPyIYZuc9VZW41hNSNk3HSXr5OLnL4tsm2xiR88SDWN4GAf7KFMlcMYU/s1600/FNX.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-JAxahRKQCEFg4XWhmdY9tGgBI20O8Wu-eNtx2EtM4WtR7ztDZXoDgCXK-8lYduRPsQxApbHqRRDbLsZeSZkPyIYZuc9VZW41hNSNk3HSXr5OLnL4tsm2xiR88SDWN4GAf7KFMlcMYU/s400/FNX.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Getting the chance to fly dual cross country with an
experienced pilot in a real XC machine like an ASH-25 is a rare opportunity, so
when I got the call from <a href="http://hdsoaring.blogspot.com/">Kempton Izuno</a>
asking if I was available to attempt a XC mission from <a href="http://www.williamssoaring.com/">Williams Soaring Center</a> to <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=42.943355,-122.129517&spn=0.426242,0.854187&gl=us&t=p&z=10">Crater
Lake, OR</a>, the only answer possible was, “Yes!”.
The weather was predicted to be very good Friday thru Sunday in the
Eastern Sierra, where I normally fly; Kempton was planning the flight in a
slightly different air mass to the west over the coastal ranges in Northern
California. I could have made the 6 hour
drive to Williams on Friday during the day, but I decided to take advantage of
the great local soaring weather instead and made a <a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=2920016">400km
racing flight</a> from California City.
It made the drive that evening tough, arriving at Williams at 11:30pm,
but the bunk house was ready to go when I arrived and I was asleep before my
head hit the pillow.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I woke up the next morning to the wonderful smell of pancakes,
bacon, and coffee emanating from the bunkhouse kitchen. I got dressed and found Kempton; we discussed
the plan for the day and weather forecast over breakfast.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The forecast had been drying out all week leading up to the
flight, decreasing the probability of making the jump from the coastal range to
the Cascades, taking Crater Lake out of possible turn points. However the weather would still support a
nice flight up the Mendocino Mountain Range and give me a chance to pick up tips
on <a href="http://soaringlab.blogspot.com/2012/02/competitive-soaring-brigliadori.html">techniques
and tactics</a> from Kempton.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The following is a summary of the key points I picked up
from Kempton’s flying that others may find useful. A little background, Kempton is not a
racing pilot; he is a very <a href="http://www.pacificsoaring.org/articles/tph1.html">experienced</a> and <a href="http://www.pacificsoaring.org/articles/diablo.html">exceptional</a> distance
pilot and has developed his techniques and tactics over more than 30 years of
starting early, coming home late, and flying for distance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->1)<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Kempton makes small and aggressive corrections
when centering thermals. When asked
which thermal centering technique he uses, i.e. Decrease Bank as Lift
Increases, he responded by saying he doesn't have a well-defined mechanical technique,
he relies on feeling the lift and making the necessary corrections.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span><!--[endif]-->Kempton emphasized staying to the high ground; if
you fall off the upper ridge get to the next lower ridge as fast as
possible. What was interesting to me was
how much this rule dictated the path we took, we made fairly large off heading
deviations to follow all the little ridges, spines, and plateaus. This allowed us to press further along our
course earlier in the day. Kempton mentioned that these techniques were taught <a href="http://www.cnvv.net/Programme_en_CNVV2012/cadre_accueil_en.htm">CNVV at St. Auban, France</a>.</div>
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</span><!--[endif]-->When we were >300’ over a ridge Kempton took
a path that favored the upwind side of the ridge over the sun
side. It seemed to work and allowed for
good protection from getting low on the lee side. <br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span><!--[endif]-->Kempton was always reminding me to look up. The Cu were small, wispy, and cycling quick;
often we were in a thermal climbing in good lift only to find a Cu forming slightly
to one side of our climb, a little adjustment and we found a better climb. <o:p></o:p>Kempton developed these techniques throughout the years and were confirmed through conversations with <a href="http://soaringcafe.com/2012/07/us-team-camp-with-brian-spreckley/">Brian Spreckley</a> and Peter Alexander.</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->5)<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->On our way home, Kempton discussed using the
outlets of all the little valleys along the mountain range as potential sources
for a late evening thermal. Thermal
triggers, caused by catabatic winds creating a mini convergence ‘finger’ extending
into the flatlands from the outlet of mountain valleys can often be the key to
getting home. A note from Kempton: This technique was picked up from Stefan Leutenegger, a top Swiss pilot. Stefan said this is a common occurrence in the Swiss Alp<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; white-space: nowrap;">s.</span></span></div>
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Here are Kempton’s thought on our flight:<o:p></o:p></div>
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In regards to finding a 7 knot thermal east of the peak at
Yolla Bolla, “I found it puzzling why the cu was over the bowl, not the peak.
The winds had been basically zero, so I concluded that with nothing to push the
thermals one way or the other up the sides of a bowl, they would pop from
inside the bowl. “<o:p></o:p></div>
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T15 (peak) had lift right over it, but after that, and in
the low ridge area north of T15 to Hayfork Peak and Buckhorn, the shreds were
not over the peaks, but rather on the sun side slope about half to one mile
away from the peaks. We saw a shred east
of Hayfork peak so went for that and climbed up to 9k, then saw another shred
at Buckhorn (S of the peak) and went for that. By this time it was 3:10p, and
it was time to turn around. On the return leg the lift was in about, but not
exactly, the same spot, supporting the light wind random trigger source theory.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Overall the experience was fantastic. Kempton and I had lots of great discussions
regarding in-flight decisions and he was willing to try out my theories by
deviating from the path he would have taken.
We supported each other while the other was flying by calling out cu’s
in the distance, timing cu cycle time, looking up, tracking other gliders,
calling altitudes, etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I would also really like to thank Rex and Noelle Mayes, and
the rest of the crew at William Soaring for some of the best hospitality in
Soaring. The atmosphere is amplified by
a top notch group of local pilots and amazing accommodations.<o:p></o:p></div>
Michael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-84070896682784674912012-08-26T22:17:00.002-07:002012-08-27T10:11:42.512-07:00Libelle 201B - Return to Flight<span style="font-family: inherit;">During the annual inspection of my Standard Libelle 201B S/N 181, a crack was discovered in the main spar spigot. This happened in March of this year. The following 5 months were filled with repairs and communication challenges with Germany. However the outcome was positive and the Libelle is now repaired, determined airworthy, and has been returned to flight. The following post is intended to benefit other Libelle owners so that they may inspect the area of concern in more detail during their next annual inspection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The area of concern is on the left wing main spar spigot : See Figure 1.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgZeAlEBskOHY7z5C4zsskKf_BJjgCpwMbAxew3SUDIvmwIOoJlwiJHuLc1twHGnWKJ7c0jQmuVnO-sAT3k5NyIbI8FRimlykRIF_iuiFELzKH6Me9iHZvd0zECABQFJGueB65fa6cyg/s1600/Figure+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgZeAlEBskOHY7z5C4zsskKf_BJjgCpwMbAxew3SUDIvmwIOoJlwiJHuLc1twHGnWKJ7c0jQmuVnO-sAT3k5NyIbI8FRimlykRIF_iuiFELzKH6Me9iHZvd0zECABQFJGueB65fa6cyg/s400/Figure+1.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 1</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A detailed drawing, shown in Figure 2, of the welded steel assembly of concern was provided by <span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://streifly.de/" style="font-weight: bold;">Glasfaser-Flugzeug-Service</a>. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFfDkZr3ZwdvchoonvrGn9gKejhkP4CLFZ1sWYLWEIwDKy3bSiUwpJlVTRM8D6EcayxjkSkk6s6alrL6WQznHAqZy4_Zf-LZlmlFOvM5wI3bzYucCf_lTs9Vj-iO4afOWilnrY4rHW-o/s1600/Figure+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFfDkZr3ZwdvchoonvrGn9gKejhkP4CLFZ1sWYLWEIwDKy3bSiUwpJlVTRM8D6EcayxjkSkk6s6alrL6WQznHAqZy4_Zf-LZlmlFOvM5wI3bzYucCf_lTs9Vj-iO4afOWilnrY4rHW-o/s400/Figure+2.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 2</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The crack was found in the weld surrounding the main pin, shown in Figure 3. The crack was difficult to see in the picture so I outlined its general shape in red. It is important to note that the main pin is not welded to the rest of the assembly, the weld attaches a thin walled tube that accepts the main pin to the rest of the assembly. The main pin is machined separately and is not heat treated nor hardened.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 3</span></td></tr>
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Figure 4 shows the area with paint removed and a stir stick inserted between the rapping plies and steel assembly. This is the area of concern regarding corrosion due to trapped moisture.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi47l7RNwXXP6T5Ois5ctua5Xpz8KBMeWW1jnFjGis6NtGuGxjlERZbcjoG6QZDZ4orkwdMGbydFD6Tonv6ntH9plTHPQ26TlxCT1Kb7nH885cMy77VqzkgThTgf-E4l7fx4fiWSHjr5vo/s1600/IMG_0222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi47l7RNwXXP6T5Ois5ctua5Xpz8KBMeWW1jnFjGis6NtGuGxjlERZbcjoG6QZDZ4orkwdMGbydFD6Tonv6ntH9plTHPQ26TlxCT1Kb7nH885cMy77VqzkgThTgf-E4l7fx4fiWSHjr5vo/s320/IMG_0222.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 4</span></td></tr>
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Figure 5a shows the assembly after the plies that rap the assembly have been removed. Figure 5b shows the removal of the pins that attach the assembly to the upper and lower spar caps. The best way to remove these pins is to use a pin of slight smaller diameter, a large C-clamp, and a large diameter deep socket. Use the pin and C-clamp to press the pin out with the socket as a backing plate that allows the pin to slide thru.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5mqye_-otByJKumBuKi3hdbuCDNa60fh9_qfaHq2A_GWpno0ij24lwEzK5k9Y9LLXKYlmdDKwjMIw-v4NmJeXrybAeHYt3J8vyTN22B5EycpwsKQ5ODMktm-pjOJN78z-lMrDxHG76A/s1600/Figure+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5mqye_-otByJKumBuKi3hdbuCDNa60fh9_qfaHq2A_GWpno0ij24lwEzK5k9Y9LLXKYlmdDKwjMIw-v4NmJeXrybAeHYt3J8vyTN22B5EycpwsKQ5ODMktm-pjOJN78z-lMrDxHG76A/s320/Figure+5.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 5a and 5b</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once the steel assembly has been removed the thickened resin used to bond the assembly in place was removed, shown in Figure 6. The important aspect of the step is to remove the non-load bearing thickened resin only, no fibrous spar cap material can be removed, or the structural integrity of the spar will be compromised.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2ypGEOSb9-V-uqADpeUVp-Gz41vE8bbhtF8JByfUKCph-cEq7VqoudW6wB0W_YT7fvwf6WY73nc2il6aWPN2r_5miAUcQupBY1EyxvR4Gf0FnGqby-wiVypGaVYo1Qkj6uCrQhHJf_M/s1600/IMG_0268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2ypGEOSb9-V-uqADpeUVp-Gz41vE8bbhtF8JByfUKCph-cEq7VqoudW6wB0W_YT7fvwf6WY73nc2il6aWPN2r_5miAUcQupBY1EyxvR4Gf0FnGqby-wiVypGaVYo1Qkj6uCrQhHJf_M/s320/IMG_0268.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 6</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At this stage I decided not to have a certified aircraft welder try to re-weld the steel assembly so I ordered a new assembly from Glasfaser-Flugzeug-Service. When it arrived I discovered that it was made from much thicker steel and fit slightly differently than the original. I was not concerned about alignment because the pins and width of the spar caps filly constrained the new part in the same position as the old part. I later found out that the new assembly is slightly different than the original because it is the assembly used on the Kestrel and the one part has been approved as the replacement for both the Kestrel and Libelle. Figure 7 shows the new part bonded in place. Note the squeeze out of the MGS 285/cotton flox mix. It is important to get lots of squeeze out during the bonding process to ensure there are no voids. Also note that the joint is design so that all loads go thru the pins, the bond between the assembly and the spar caps and shear webs is just additional margin; same is true for the rapping plies. Figure 7 also shows the pins installed, I chose to fill the thru holes in the pins with steel filled resin to prevent moisture collection in the future.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhjF9qXVaXB7N1zxGtAOgsXh36eXRETSeOZi7mAsccyBxRArEAmKE97lwgP9BO4CtgA3WVX2UzEsMnFsp_3QkYTYewbzD1p_Xi507TL7KPyAzB9xw0EUYXF3HmcoYEszPUK_pEToEum0/s1600/IMG_0281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhjF9qXVaXB7N1zxGtAOgsXh36eXRETSeOZi7mAsccyBxRArEAmKE97lwgP9BO4CtgA3WVX2UzEsMnFsp_3QkYTYewbzD1p_Xi507TL7KPyAzB9xw0EUYXF3HmcoYEszPUK_pEToEum0/s320/IMG_0281.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 7</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The final operation is to cover the area in fiber glass, and post cure the area to 130deg F. Figure 8 shows the spar rapping plies before the resin has cured. The tech note covers the detailed ply layout and position. The post cure was achieved by creating a tent around the spar end and using a space heater and digital thermometer from Home Depot.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRn8kjNhjQOHVIeIHkN2x1Qfsv2LBVpdF-qpmJ40VJ2bFf7EZ34AYXbil8uD4blSElqJ1zGFXk_oO6Sek0RkNsXaByRKkRF85ty-QmcUNmbiA_QEbNOu157MAqY1L9-naPbgUn3yfiJ0/s1600/Final+Layup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwRn8kjNhjQOHVIeIHkN2x1Qfsv2LBVpdF-qpmJ40VJ2bFf7EZ34AYXbil8uD4blSElqJ1zGFXk_oO6Sek0RkNsXaByRKkRF85ty-QmcUNmbiA_QEbNOu157MAqY1L9-naPbgUn3yfiJ0/s320/Final+Layup.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 8</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The entire process was oversaw by an experience composite repair technician, a certified aircraft inspector, and myself. When we agreed all work was done in accordance with TN201-31, the IA filled out a 337 and submitted it to the FAA and signed the aircraft logs to return the glider to airworthy condition. For the first flight after the repair I planned a short flight to expand the g envelope in a safe environment. For the flight I replaced my compass with a g-meter and planned a +2.0g wind-up turn followed by a -.5g pushover. I used a go-pro camera to record the data. A screenshot of the g-meter is shown in Figure 9. I have since open the g envelope to +3/-.5g.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWAn2YgRGJDyjvEW-fJvvLkLVCeEN79NYvEOgoS6RQPwSRIanuDz0ajTnCUk9EacxSPpKoXAzYWp8knvIdnUiS76ModfIc-5h3mdLjlw27eXvMo7jsmg8HVbkdVseFl5hTdhbOXHeNLs/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWAn2YgRGJDyjvEW-fJvvLkLVCeEN79NYvEOgoS6RQPwSRIanuDz0ajTnCUk9EacxSPpKoXAzYWp8knvIdnUiS76ModfIc-5h3mdLjlw27eXvMo7jsmg8HVbkdVseFl5hTdhbOXHeNLs/s320/photo.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 9</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My first cross country flight in the Libelle was a 650km out and return flight along the infamous Owens Valley. The flight trace can be found <a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=2719788" target="_blank">here</a>. The Libelle is truly and amazing glider and I'm very happy to be flying it again, however it is true that I purchased a Schempp Hirth Discus A during the 5 months my Libelle was down for repairs. I plan on tuning the Discus to the same caliber as the Libelle, but the Libelle will always be my favorite.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Until the next repair, fly while you can, whatever you can.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Keep Soaring,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Michael <i><b>BK</b> and <b>2Y</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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Michael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-743949908760952452012-02-06T22:27:00.000-08:002012-02-06T22:39:12.154-08:00Competitive Soaring: Brigliadori Distilled<div class="prezi-player">
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</style>As presented at the SSA Convention in Reno, NV I have attached my presentation below. It is a distillation of Leo and Ricky Brigliadori's book Competing in Gliders. Additionally I am working on a version that includes the audio of my talk. Please feel free to email me with your questions and comments so that we can all continue to learn how to fly faster.<br />
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Keep flying, especially with the stick full forward.<br />
Michael "BK"<br />
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<br />(To view the presentation, click the Play button in the window below, select MORE, then FULL SCREEN in the lower right corner)<br />
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<a href="http://prezi.com/yirbk3gji0hx/competitive-soaring-brigliadori-distilled/" title="Competitive Soaring: Brigliadori Distilled">Competitive Soaring: Brigliadori Distilled</a> on <a href="http://prezi.com/">Prezi</a></div>
</div>Michael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-62746463401247473132011-11-29T21:27:00.001-08:002011-11-29T21:28:56.244-08:00Short post today. This <a href="http://www.blackmountainsgliding.co.uk/pilotweb/hillsoaring.html?PHPSESSID=4772e9652c532f3ecb7eaf26bbe91e2b">link</a>, is one of the best, concise descriptions of the basics of ridge soaring I thought it deserved a post.<br />
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Keep soaring, closer to the ridge the better.
MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-72126138037753484782011-10-02T22:24:00.000-07:002011-10-02T22:40:09.810-07:00Racing the LibelleI recently gave a presentation at the 2011 Experimental Sailplane Homebuilders Workshop in Tehachapi, CA on the modifications I have made to my Libelle 201b and some of my experiences racing it in regional and national contests. I would also like to welcome all the visitors from the Cafe Foundation Blog. Big thanks to Dean Segler for linking back to my Blog!<br /><br /><a title="View Racing the Libelle on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/67244443/Racing-the-Libelle" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Racing the Libelle</a> <object id="doc_70422" name="doc_70422" height="600" width="600" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline:none;" > <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=67244443&access_key=key-gedoqga5rkbj17x6zg6&page=1&viewMode=slideshow"> <embed id="doc_70422" name="doc_70422" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=67244443&access_key=key-gedoqga5rkbj17x6zg6&page=1&viewMode=slideshow" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="600" width="600" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed> </object><br /><br />Until my next post...Keep Soaring<br />(it's almost wave season!)<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-35056028136876102622011-09-20T21:58:00.000-07:002011-09-21T13:29:48.445-07:00Breeze FrontsThis week we had some local fires that were started by dry lightning. Overall a bad thing but it did provide an opportunity to capture the daily afternoon phenomena of the breeze front (AKA <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_breeze">Sea Breeze Front</a>) pushing through the Tehachapi, CA valley on it's way to spilling into the desert floor near <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=mojave,+ca&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x80c2215cf671ff47:0xd6df8073bdffbca0,Mojave,+CA&gl=us&ei=BnB5TtacF8LSiAL_mNDeDw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CDUQ8gEwAQ">Mojave, CA</a>.<br /><br />The breeze front is the cool stable air from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Joaquin_Valley">San Joaquin Valley</a> pushing east as the thermals in the desert start to die and no longer act as a thermal block to the normal west to east trade winds.<br /><br />The breeze front, though itself stable, promotes thermal development by providing relatively cool air to help the last little bit of heated air in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapse_rate">super adiabatic layer</a> to separate from the ground and form thermals. Thermals form at the boundary of the cool stable air and warm unstable air.<br /><br />So here is a picture of what I am talking about. You can see the cool stable air moving in the from the right, marked by the smoke it carries with it, and the clear unstable air on the left. The Raged cu in the upper right are normal indicators of the thermals produced by breeze fronts.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kk5idzweOUSsN654qWXLo3mQ3J6BR-41dHR9MSArE6vdKu97x3RZvU7gcjSA_2XPMgWeH2ZfmKsS0MbKwKY6_sLxaMXQZ9CIg8cF5p-oOc5syJV5hxB08MymDwJbMGOBL6iHdaywCxg/s1600/Breeze+Front+with+Notes.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kk5idzweOUSsN654qWXLo3mQ3J6BR-41dHR9MSArE6vdKu97x3RZvU7gcjSA_2XPMgWeH2ZfmKsS0MbKwKY6_sLxaMXQZ9CIg8cF5p-oOc5syJV5hxB08MymDwJbMGOBL6iHdaywCxg/s320/Breeze+Front+with+Notes.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654676625801573186" border="0" /></a><br />See Reichmann, "<a href="http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/books/CrossCountrySoaring/Cross-CountrySoaring.htm">Cross Country Soaring</a>" Pages 27-29 for more information.<br /><br />I hope you now better understand a common soaring weather phenomena.<br /><br />Keep soaring,<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-7641508209369301822010-12-18T17:37:00.000-08:002010-12-19T21:16:06.691-08:00Calcuating Trigger TimeThe last post covered the process of calculate trigger temperature and the mechanics of the atmosphere that are underway as the day heats up and thermals start. Today's post will cover how to estimate what time the surface temperature will reach trigger temperature and will also cover a few other tips related to trigger temperature.<br /><br />To find the estimated trigger time first recall this plot from the last post:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfd2CA2MQvZowjcpwGF8_wT_kTxrUnokfVAhYA3RDxYUSU5ZSIxiDXSXZbz3ozROxQo-57N-JfO2dVa7EkBBigArpRXnA8F8t382JQMD9bb1q-QsfgQD73HT_9cWxoH5Rvbi7f6Q1664/s1600/DennisPagen_ThermalLore+Ground+Inversion.gif"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfd2CA2MQvZowjcpwGF8_wT_kTxrUnokfVAhYA3RDxYUSU5ZSIxiDXSXZbz3ozROxQo-57N-JfO2dVa7EkBBigArpRXnA8F8t382JQMD9bb1q-QsfgQD73HT_9cWxoH5Rvbi7f6Q1664/s1600/DennisPagen_ThermalLore+Ground+Inversion.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>It turns out that the heat required to eliminate the ground inversion is proportional to the area of the triangle formed by the temperature profile (shown above as the area shaded with dashed lines). So, first calculate the area under the temperature profile, this can be done by copying the plot onto graph paper and counting the squares or by simple geometry; the area of a triangle is 1/2 * base * height. For plots of this type the y axis might be in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_%28unit%29">milibars</a>, you will want to convert milibars into feet. The x axis is temperature. That means the area calculation you have done will result in units of (degree*ft). Which is handy because the chart below, which shows the available heating from the sun just happens to be in degree*ft!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHyxZH0DCK9BalATJgL16oYvMeV3hXsAbEZ8ldl0SgUyiKVfyA9D4R0uiuOZEvs0L2INaJ9N2TAHnaObg9KeMxo4OfcoVJ6rORQveQzetDIKq0g7kKusoL3zvZhuEUVyD6KYlS_6DJsU0/s1600/Available+Heating.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 431px; height: 397px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHyxZH0DCK9BalATJgL16oYvMeV3hXsAbEZ8ldl0SgUyiKVfyA9D4R0uiuOZEvs0L2INaJ9N2TAHnaObg9KeMxo4OfcoVJ6rORQveQzetDIKq0g7kKusoL3zvZhuEUVyD6KYlS_6DJsU0/s320/Available+Heating.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552626107239906114" border="0" /></a><br />This chart is for a latitude of 45deg, if your latitude is greater/less move/down up 1/2 hour for every 5deg difference in latitude. This chart allows us to predict when the air will have been heated enough to over power the ground inversion. Note that the above chart is for clear skies, cirrus, fog, smoke or any other sun blocker can reduce the about of energy reaching the ground and should be accounted for.<br /><br />The other method, which is much more user friendly is to rely on your local weather station predictions for the temperature as throughout the day. You can always supplement this information with temperature readings of you own. I glued a thermometer to my wing wheel so when i'm waiting to launch I can monitor the rise in temperature and know if it is rising faster or slower than predicted and adjust my launch time accordingly.<br /><br />All of these methods help you become more aware of how the soaring day starts and how to position yourself to start your flight on time and get the most of the soaring day for those long tasks. Until next time...<br /><br />Keep soaring,<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-71057842144947553742010-12-10T08:24:00.000-08:002010-12-10T09:14:48.552-08:00Calculating Trigger TemperatureIf you want to fly long distances you need to get going early. The best way to make that happen is to be ready when the thermals start to pop; but how do you know when that will be? Today's post will address how to determine Trigger temperature. My next post will cover how to estimate when trigger temperature will be reached. Like my previous post, the information for this post comes from Dennis Pagen's book, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Sky-Dennis-Pagen/dp/0936310103">Understanding the Sky</a>" which is required reading for anyone serious about soaring XC.<br /><br />The first step to this process is to find the skew-T for the location you plan on launching from. The easiest way to get a skew-T is thought <a href="http://www.xcskies.com/">XCSkies</a> point forecast tool or use the tools provided by <a href="http://www.drjack.info/">Dr Jack</a>.To find the trigger temperature you will need to determine the height of the ground inversion layer and the lapse rate of the air layer above it. In the figure below, taken from <span style="font-style: italic;">Understanding the Sky,</span> a notional skew-T chart is shown with only the relevant information displayed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfd2CA2MQvZowjcpwGF8_wT_kTxrUnokfVAhYA3RDxYUSU5ZSIxiDXSXZbz3ozROxQo-57N-JfO2dVa7EkBBigArpRXnA8F8t382JQMD9bb1q-QsfgQD73HT_9cWxoH5Rvbi7f6Q1664/s1600/DennisPagen_ThermalLore+Ground+Inversion.gif"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfd2CA2MQvZowjcpwGF8_wT_kTxrUnokfVAhYA3RDxYUSU5ZSIxiDXSXZbz3ozROxQo-57N-JfO2dVa7EkBBigArpRXnA8F8t382JQMD9bb1q-QsfgQD73HT_9cWxoH5Rvbi7f6Q1664/s320/DennisPagen_ThermalLore+Ground+Inversion.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549093069294587634" border="0" /></a>The ground inversion layer, usually about 1000'-2000' thick, is caused by the relatively cold temperature of the ground at night cooling the air layer closest to the ground. This is the same mechanism that forms the superadiabatic layer near the ground when the surface heats up and warms the lower layer of air. It isn't until the ground inversion layer is warmed to match the lapse rate of the air above it that thermals will escape the ground inversion layer; this warming process is shown in the figure above as the dashed lines. To find trigger temperature, draw a line starting where the temperature profile begins to decrease and follow the dry adiabatic lapse rate (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapse_rate">DALR</a>) lines on the skew-T to ground level. The temperature where the DALR line intersects ground level is trigger temperature, represented in the figure as the far right dashed line.<br /><br />We now know that for trigger temperature to be reached the early morning solar heating must eliminate the cold ground inversion layer, this means that on days following cold clear nights where the ground inversion is thick trigger temperature will occur later in the day.<br /><br />Hopefully this helps take the mystery out of calculating trigger temperature. Until next time..<br /><br />Keep soaring,<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-3469357318158253262010-12-05T19:46:00.001-08:002010-12-05T20:42:07.991-08:00My Six Month Leave is Over, and Unvailing a New Posting FormattGosh, has it really been 6 months since my last post? It's been a busy 6 months at work and with my flying. The end of the soaring season left me wanting a little bit more; the weather just didn't stack up this year like it did last year so to get my fix I started paragliding. I know, not the safest decision but it really has brought to light a new understating of low level wind and thermal development phenomena and a strong desire to study more about micro-meteorology. It also means I can get my feet off the ground more often, even if it's only for half an hour after work.<br /><br />The major challenge I faced with my blog over the last 6 months is that I rarely had time to put forth the effort to collate information for one of my longer posts. However as winter sets in and any hope of flying - glider, paraglider, or otherwise - gets covered over with snow I have once again re-dedicated myself to studying all topics of Soaring. This means I can continue to share what I am learning in hopes that others can benefit. In a effort to have a more consistent presence and give all my dedicated readers (or soon to be dedicated readers) a reason to stop in regularly I will be posting shorter articles covering some of the details of the work I'm doing with longer more detailed post when I have the time. In this spirit, below is a short snippet of of information gleaned from an amazing book recently purchased called, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Sky-Dennis-Pagen/dp/0936310103">Understanding the Sky</a>" by Dennis Pagen.<br /><br />In Chapter 7 <span style="font-style: italic;">Local Winds</span>, Dennis addresses a phenomenon common to pilots in the North West US and on the East Coast; Sea Breeze Fronts. Here are some of the more important notes. If we imagine we are on the east coast with a north/south coast line, for winds coming from the south west the sea breeze front is most likely to push far inland. Winds from northwest will promote a sea breeze front which will likely form off shore and slowly push inland as heating increases. Winds from the north east likely means a high pressure inland which my set up a sea breeze later in the day but will be dependent on heating and will not push as far inland as general off shore winds. South east winds are indicative of a low over land increasing the onshore component of the wind and driving cool stable air far inland; No traditional sea breeze will be present. This is also the least favorable for soaring conditions. A more detailed explanation of why this is the case is covered in the book and worth a detailed read if you fly near a large body of water.<br /><br />Also addressed in Chapter 7 is the effect of a sea breeze. For a soaring pilot sea breezes bring various different kinds of lift. Stable on shore winds bring smooth ridge lift to coastal sites and sea breezes flow around mountains and through passes colliding on the other side to create convergence lift bands familiar to the folks flying out of Hollister in nor-cal and Lake Elsinore in so-cal. Additional the formation of sea breeze fronts forms lift bands ahead of the cool airmass much like pre-frontal lift found ahead of an arriving cold front. Sea breeze frontal lift is characterized by a small band of good lift marked by good clouds with dying cu on the far side. Pilots are advised to stay ahead of the front to not suffer the same fate. The lift associated with the sea breeze front usually tops out around 3000', for inland covection levels below that the sea breeze front will be weak, convection levels greater will likly cause over development and localized showers and thunderstorms.<br /><br />Hopefully you learned a little bit about sea breeze winds and front and are encourages to go out and get a great weather resource in the form of Dennis Pagen's book, "Understanding the Sky."<br /><br />I'll take any comments or advice on the new format or anything else I've written about.<br /><br />Keep soaring, even when you're close to the beach,<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-20763983710378182122010-05-23T11:10:00.000-07:002010-05-23T12:32:21.643-07:00Biennial Flight Review - A Review of 2 Years of MistakesOn May 3rd 2008, I finally achieved the goal I had been dreaming about since I was very young, I became a pilot. It was a rainy day at <a href="http://www.ci.arlington.wa.us/?nid=45">Arlington Municipal Airport</a> just north of Seattle, Wa. My flight examiner was Neil Karman, we went through the oral exam and then went outside to check the weather. My first decision as a de-facto rated pilot was the go/no go decision to fly; "Lets Fly!", I said, and we got the tow pilot and my trusty trainer, a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zok7LltWU0E">Blanik L-13</a>, and we were dodging clouds in no time. 3 flights later I was set free as a rated glider <span style="font-style: italic;">pilot</span>.<br /><br />Fast forward two years and now it's time for my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biennial_flight_review">Biennial Flight Review</a>. The actual BFR was straightforward; with 200 hours in the last 2 years my stick and rudder skills are sharp, I'm current on my FARs, and flying at the local airport I knew every inch of the pattern and runway. What I have found more valuable was a review of all the stupid mistakes I have made in the last 2 years that have eaten into the acceptable safety margin I like to maintain. Below are the top 3 (or should I say bottom 3) mistakes I have made. Sadly there are many more than 3, but by stepping up and acknowledging all of them to myself I have recognized a few aspects of my flying that need to be kept in-check and identified situations and thought patters I need to be aware of.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">When flying someplace new, question your level of comfort and confidence.</span><br /><br />I had 3 flights under my belt flying out of <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=california+city,+ca&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=California+City,+CA&gl=us&ei=HHb5S4baMon2MsXOgIQI&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ8gEwAA">California City, Ca</a>, my longest just short of 200km, but I still hadn't done my planned out and return flight for my silver badge. Feeling anxious to get it out of the way, I took a tow on March 27th. With consistent thermals to 5000' agl near the airport I felt comfortable to push towards the mountains. Why not? I had gone cross country at 2500' agl flying out of Arlington and been successful, what can prevent me from repeating that success here? Before not too long I got low and had to back track to get a climb, again up to 5500' agl I pushed north, undeterred, into higher terrain on the other side of a ridge. A short glider later, and after lots of sink, I was below the required glider to get back over the ridge, and I was in the <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=california+city,+ca&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=California+City,+Kern,+California&gl=us&ei=HHb5S4baMon2MsXOgIQI&ved=0CBQQ8gEwAA&ll=35.478565,-118.006554&spn=0.128047,0.468979&t=h&z=12">middle of nowhere</a>! I was targeting a landout field on my PDA that I had never seen nor had conformation that it was landable. When I arrived at the spot, which was a 500' long dirt area on the side of the highway, I discovered a truck was parked right in the middle. I found a few thermals to give him time to move along and for me to make a run at going over the ridge. My attempts didn't work and I begrudgingly returned to land on the side of the highway. I should note that this was way first landout. The gider and myself were unhurt and I was quickly picked up by my crew; quickly because I had only made it 20 miles. At this point, if you were counting my mistakes on you fingers and toes, you would have both shoes off. Fundamentally, what really got me in trouble was a strong desire to achieve my goal coupled with a rational for my in-flight decisions based on a lot of experience from a completely different soaring site. Not everything transfers from site to site. Always question your own decisions! Here is the <a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=1264327282">flight</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Don't ever outsource in-flight decisions to someone outside the cockpit.</span><br /><br />Reading this one it is difficult to imagine a situation where this would ever happen, yet it has happened to me and it almost ended very poorly; in fact it's the closest I have come to crashing my glider. I was flying the practice day of Region 12 last year and I had identified a pilot who I knew was very good, and my plan was to flollow him around the course and try to learn as much as I could. I would go where he went, leave when he left, and thermal with him; taking notes the whole time. Well at the start I was a little lower that he was and he was soon off leaving me in the dust, I had set a minimum altitude from which I would leave the start gate and at that point I was below that altitude. I tried to find a better thermal but in the process fell lower. There was a lot of internal pressure to leave so that I could execute my plan, how could I complete the task if I didn't follow this other pilot around? So, I left the start gate well below my minimum altitude and spear chucked into a field 10 miles further on. I committed to land way too late, failed to see the power lines running across the field, failed to notice how long the grass was, and failed to notice the nicer fields 1 mile behind me. I finally picked up the power line on short final, luckily they were not a factor, but no off field landing story should ever use the expression, 'luckily'. Once I touched down I caught a wingtip in the grass and ground looped. I thought for sure the boom was coming off but it didn't and glider and pilot once again escaped damage. All because I delegated my success of the flight outside the cockpit. Check the flight <a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-225369995">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Know the point of no return.</span><br /><br />This one has happened to me a few times, most notably early in this <a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-1929299000">flight</a>. Out on course there were amazing Cu's popping, but not in the direction I usually leave the Tehachapi Valley. There were more to the west in an area that is very far out of the way and only has was very non desirable land-out option. I got as high as a I could and made a B-line straigh for the clouds. About 10 miles into that glide, when I realized the clouds were out of reach I should have turned to the east to make my escape, but I didn't, I had made my decision and a was fat, dumb, and happy. About 5 more miles and I could have made an escape to better terrain and much better landing options, but again i had made my decision, the clouds were still there and they were getting better, but at this point I should have realized they were out of reach If I were to maintain escape options. I had crossed the point of return and hadn't yet noticed. It was just a little further on that I realized I was going to have to make it work if I wanted to escape the valley, so I got down low and close into the rocks and finally got the thermal I was looking for. I should have never been in the situation in the first place; low, in a valley with only one very poor land-out option, and no escape routs.<br /><br />So that's the short list of the mistakes I have made in the last 2 years of flying. Soaring is challenging and dangerous, that's why I like it, but there is no reason to make it any more dangerous that it needs to be. If you asses your mistakes and understand how events transpired you're more likely to fill your bag of experience before you bag of luck runs out!<br /><br />Keep flying, and making good decisions,<br />Michael 'BK'Michael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-65402137246586917382010-02-23T22:22:00.000-08:002010-03-21T13:52:02.916-07:00Current ProjectsI just wanted to provide a status of what I'm working on and apologize for missing last few weeks worth of posts, there is a great post in the works based on an interview with Chip Garner; so stay tuned for that.<br /><br />My current projects:<br />1) I'm sanding the wings of my Libelle, fixing some poor repairs previously done, sealing aileron gaps, sealing aileron root holes, improving spoiler fit, replacing all spoiler springs, making tip wheel fairings, improving the canopy seal, fixing some fuselage scratches, adding tabulator tape to the rudder, making a tail skid, fixing some trailer issues, and making some improvements to the cockpit to increase comfort.<br /><br />2) Developing a detailed simulation of an ASW-20 to evaluate different digital vario filtering schemes.<br /><br />3) Planning for the upcoming season's contests - US Sports Class Nationals, Avenal season opener<br /><br />And there are always a million other things on the back burner. In an upcoming post I will detail all the mods I made to my Libelle, and talk about the season goal sheet I'm developing for myself.<br /><br />Keep soaring,<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-68342214615279306222010-02-13T20:19:00.000-08:002010-03-10T09:51:29.755-08:00Changing Gears - ContinuedLast week I posed the question, "Why would you need to change gears while flying?" and provided a <a href="http://soaringlab.blogspot.com/2010/02/im-trying-something-different-this-week.html">list</a> of reasons why I though you would have to. Tony Condon, a Cherokee II pilot (who's soaring blog can be read <a href="http://cherokeesailplanes.blogspot.com/">here</a>) also provided his own reasons for changing gears. Below I address a few of those reasons and provide anecdotal evidence from my own flying.<br /><br />Good Reasons for changing gears:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />The sky ahead is blue.</span><br /><br />I imagine this is the most common reason for changing gears during flight, and the easiest to see coming. It happened to me on a 500km triangle task on my way to the first turn point; the last 50km was out in the blue after a leg under good cloud development and reliable lift. The approach was simple because it was easy to see the problem coming, which is important to realize in addressing the other reasons for changing gears - if you are aware of the changes ahead you can start to plan early. In this instance, the solution was to climb as high as possible before heading out into the blue and switch from flying cloud references to following ground references. Dial back the MacCready and turn around and retreat before you are too low to make it back into an area of known good lift. Keep in mind when flying into the blue there are three reasons why the sky is blue; 1) the lift doesn't go as high as it did in the area of clouds, 2) the dew point is lower and the lift goes just as high, 3) there is little or no lift. On my flight, it turned out that the lift was just stopping 500' lower than in the area of clouds. That portion of the leg was still slower but I made the turnpoint.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The last thermal was broken at 8000'.</span><br /><br />This one came form a very interesting learning experience; it required connecting a lot of different information together to develop a good reason to change gears and slow down. The sky was clearly rocking, good cu all over with good vertical development but no hint at over development. The cloud tops were leaning to the north east but I was showing wind more out of the north west. Cloud base appeared to be at 9500'-10,000', but climbing through 8000' the lift was broken and weak, about 2-3 knots below the rest of the climb. I realized, after ignoring the sings for an hour, that there was a shear layer at 8000' and if I could break through 8000' the lift would be much better and as an added bonus the wind would be better aligned with my leg. So I changed gears by slowing down and struggling through the shear layer, once above 8000' the lift picked up markedly. I was then forced to shrink my working band so that I would not drop below 8000'.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I am nervous.</span><br /><br />Death Valley has an intimidating name which conjures up images of a very formidable place for a glider pilot to fly over. When your landing options are <a href="http://www.airnav.com/airport/L06">Furnace Creek</a> or <a href="http://www.airnav.com/airport/L09">Stove Pipe Wells</a> you consider all other options seriously. On a <a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?flightId=-1271353792">straight out flight</a> from Tehachapi, Ca for the 2010 Dust Devil Dash, I had to make an even more difficult decision. I needed to cross the valley north east of Death Valley - 35 miles of <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Tehachapi,+Kern,+California&ll=36.745487,-117.534485&spn=0.502887,1.352692&t=p&z=10">inaccessible desert</a> with the retrieve option being a helicopter for you and a 3 day expedition for the glider on ATVs and 4 wheel drive trucks. In this situation, no matter how good the clouds look are how strong the lift is, it's reasonable to change gears, slow down and stay high.<br /><br />Bad reasons for changing gears:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />I needed to make up lost time.</span><br /><br />This happens to me more than I would like to admit. If you set a goal for your flight, and maybe it's a bit reaching or an over call for the day, it easy to blame yourself for falling behind and try to make up for it by doing the completely wrong thing in poor conditions; change gears and fly faster. There is only one optimal speed for every condition, and that speed doesn't change because you are flying poorly or because you need to fly faster to make your turnpoint or goal.<br /><br />The final point is that there are good and bad reasons to change gears - good reasons are based on lots of information gathered from all resources available, bad reasons often come from internal emotions or rational independent of all the information available to the pilot. If you only eliminate all the bad reasons for changing gears from your flying you will be making a significant improvement.<br /><br />Keep soaring, no matter what gear you're in!<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-10938183204929888572010-02-07T20:26:00.000-08:002010-02-07T20:31:05.279-08:00Changing Gears - Community Comments Requested!I'm trying something different this week. I would like to ask all the great pilots who have been reading my blog to help contribute. Below is a list of all the good and bad reasons I can think of that a pilot would change gears while soaring. By change gears I mean, fling more or less aggressively, staying high or pushing low, increasing or decreasing MacCready, keep flying or land. I don't imagine that my list is complete, so I would like you to add a comment below with all the ones I have missed. During the week I'll collect the comments and amend the list with your thoughts then select a few to provide anecdotes for from my own flying or from flights I have read about. If you are feeling ambitious, provide an anecdote as well! Note that there is a list of good reasons, and a list of bad reasons; I'll comment on that later.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Good reasons for changing gears:</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The sky ahead is showing:</span><br /><ol><li>More clouds</li><li>Fewer clouds</li><li>No clouds</li><li>Cloud bases rising</li><li>Cloud bases lowering</li><li>Thunderstorms building</li><li>Thunderstorm blow-off</li><li>Cloud streeting</li></ol><span style="font-style: italic;">The wind is:</span><br /><ol><li>A greater headwind/tailwind</li><li>more/less favorable for ridge/wave/thermal-ridge/thermal-wave</li><li>Showing a gust front</li></ol><span style="font-style: italic;">Last thermal was:</span><br /><ol><li>Weaker than expected</li><li>Stronger than expected</li><li>Broken</li><li>Broken above/below/at altitude x</li><li>The next thermal is expected to be:</li><li>Weaker than expected</li><li>Stronger than expected</li><li>Broken above/below/at altitude x</li><li>Unknown</li></ol><span style="font-style: italic;">Lift:</span><br /><ol><li>Hasn’t started yet</li><li>Is about to stop</li><li>Has changed, i.e. shear line at end of day, ridge to thermal, thermal to wave, etc.</li></ol><span style="font-style: italic;">The sun:</span><br /><ol><li>Has changed angles, i.e. high to low, east facing to west facing</li><li>Will/Has become blocked</li><li>Is about to set</li></ol><span style="font-style: italic;">Your altitude is:</span><br /><ol><li>Too low for comfort</li><li>Too high to use</li><li>Above/in/below the working band</li></ol><span style="font-style: italic;">The Terrain:</span><br /><ol><li>Will/Has become unlandable</li><li>Will/Has changed, i.e. mountains/ plains, grasslands/forest, dry/wet</li></ol><span style="font-style: italic;">You are:</span><br /><ol><li>Lost</li><li>Tired</li><li>Daydreaming</li><li>Nervous</li><li>Uncomfortable</li></ol><span style="font-style: italic;">Other gliders are:</span><br /><ol><li>Reporting weak/booming lift</li><li>Appear lower/higher ahead</li><li>Returning lower/higher</li><li>Deviating from course</li><li>On the ground</li><li>Gaggling</li><li>Easy to see</li></ol><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bad reasons for changing gears:</span><br /><ol><li>Make up lost time</li><li>Make more distance</li><li>Fly further/faster than competitor</li><li>Recover from a mistake</li><li>Frustration</li><li>Impatience</li></ol>Michael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-86173451065662412192010-02-03T22:19:00.000-08:002010-02-03T23:01:27.504-08:00New Resource for Importing Existing Turnpoint Files to Google MapsThere was a questions that came up at the convention I hadn't answered yet, that I would like to address now:<br /><br />Q) I have a number of turnpoint/waypoint/landout files used in flight on my PDA, how do I get them into my Google My Maps?<br /><br />A) Prior to my discovery of <a href="http://www.soaringdata.info/">this</a> tool, I was only able to do this with tools I have developed that wouldn't share well. But, thanks to Lynn Alley and his website http://www.soaringdata.info/ there is now a tool for everyone to use, and better yet it's free and it's online! Here is how to take data you already have and map it in Google My Maps.<br /><br />1) Start by downloading <a href="http://soaringweb.org/TP/Cal_city/cal_city.cup">this</a> file from the World Wide Turnpoint Exchange, saving it to your desktop for easy access later. I have chosen a .cup file but other waypoint formats will work. Read <a href="http://www.xmission.com/%7Elalley/airports/TurnpointHelp.html">this</a> for more info.<br />2) Go to <a href="http://www.soaringdata.info/">http://www.soaringdata.info/</a> in the first box, click on the words "<a href="http://www.xmission.com/%7Elalley/airports/">this link</a>".<br />3) Use the Browse button and open the .cup file saved in step 1.<br />4) Select, "Include only turnpoints in the output" and/or "Use FAA/NASR aiport names" if you want.<br />***I believe the website has a small error so the next steps are a work around to be able to select, ".KML (for Google Earth)" in Box 4, which at this step should still be unselectable***<br />5.a) Input a local airport identifier in Box 1. If you downloaded the .cup from step 1, try using L94 (Mountain Valley Airport in Tehachapi, CA)<br />5.b) Select a maximum waypoint count of 5 (doesn't really matter)<br />*** At this point the ".KML (for Google Earth)" in Box 4 should be a selectable option***<br />5) Select ".KML (for Google Earth)" in Box 4<br />6) Type in "Soar" in option 5 and select Submit<br />7) You will get a popup that prompts you to save a .zip file; save it to your desktop. Once the download is complete, unzip the .kml file.<br />8) Go to Google Maps and Select My Maps and create a new map or open an existing map you want to add to (see my Feb 1st post for details) Then select the Import option, and brows to the .kml file and select OK. <br /><br /><br />In just a few seconds all your waypoints/landouts/airports will be imported into your map. You are 90% of the way to a great soaring resource for your local club. Here is an example map that should look just like the one you created following the steps above.<br /><br /><iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=p&msa=0&msid=110809831428160373070.00047ec040e6e3f4f9b0a&ll=35.782171,-117.729492&spn=3.119229,4.669189&z=7&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=p&msa=0&msid=110809831428160373070.00047ec040e6e3f4f9b0a&ll=35.782171,-117.729492&spn=3.119229,4.669189&z=7&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">US Airports from NASR Data</a> in a larger map</small><br /><br />As always, I'm available for questions.<br /><br />Keep soaring,<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-92184534904039131542010-02-01T20:37:00.000-08:002010-02-04T11:41:23.407-08:00Using Google My Maps for SoaringMy presentation at the SSA convention was a big success, thanks to all the pilots who were able to attend and provide support by asking questions and creating a good discussion. As promised I have embedded the presentation below; scroll over the edge of the presentation and click to change pages and all the links work, so feel free to click away.<br /><a title="View SSA Convention Presentation - Google Maps Tools on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/26240027/SSA-Convention-Presentation-Google-Maps-Tools" style="margin: 12px auto 6px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">SSA Convention Presentation - Google Maps Tools</a> <object id="doc_819511427046750" name="doc_819511427046750" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline-color: -moz-use-text-color; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium;" width="450" height="600"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=26240027&access_key=key-12f293yifdxccymij7gr&page=1&viewMode=slideshow"> </object><br /><br />A few questions came up during the presentation that I would like to address here:<br /><br />Q1) Can I overlay sectional maps on Google Maps?<br /><br />A1) Yes, but it's not easy. At the time I didn't know if it could be done, but after a little research I have discovered that yes it can be done, but the complexity is very limiting. The best description I have found is <a href="http://googlemapsapi.blogspot.com/2007/05/v280-making-image-overlays-easy-with.html">here</a>. Note that you would need an image of the sectional you want to overlay. Then you need to create a .kml file that contained a link to the image and the geotag information on where the image should be placed on the earth. What I would suggest is to use your map in conjunction with other online tools, like the website <a href="http://skyvector.com/">skyvector</a> or <a href="http://www.runwayfinder.com/">RunwayFinder</a> to view sectionals online and make notes on your soaring map.<br /><br />Q2) Can I embed a video into my map?<br /><br />A2) Yes, and it can be very helpful. A description on how to add video to the map can be found <a href="http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=68480">here</a>. As an example I have added a video to the <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=p&msa=0&msid=110809831428160373070.00047d8d94c41c64f224b&ll=48.31494,-121.769371&spn=0.098407,0.338173&z=12">Evergreen Soaring - Local Spots</a> of a local pilot, <a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightbook.html?sp=2009&st=olc&rt=olc&pi=36380">Brad Hill</a>, digging himself out of a hole behind Higgins that is a good example of how to fly the local conditions. Select the light blue thermal marker.<br /><br />After the presentation I had a number of people asking me how to find the maps I showed during the presentation. Prior to the convention I had been relying on providing direct links to my maps via email, however it became clear that a more universal solution is needed. So I am working on getting the 2 maps I have been working on linked in the <a href="http://soaringweb.org/TP/">Worldwide Soaring Turnpoint Exchange</a>. Stay tuned for an update. Until then use the search option and hope for the best.<br /><br />There were also a lot of comments about specifications for the format of the maps I have made and the maps I hope everyone else will make. I have put a fair amount of thought into what the maps should look like so I would like to suggest a standard that everyone should follow here:<br /><br /><span class="ms" jstcache="75" jsdisplay="!$this.errMsg || $this.missingPrefs" jseval="insertModContent(this,$this);" jsskip="1">1) Good thermal generators or ridges that generate lift should be marked with yellow balloons, yellow lines, or yellow polygons. Try to give detailed information on the lift source.<br /><br />2) Airports should be marked with a Blue line showing the approximate runway heading and length.<br /><br />3) Landout fields should be marked in purple showing the usable landing area.<br /><br />4) Danger areas, caution areas, or areas that consistently lack lift should be marked with red balloons, red lines, or red polygons.<br /><br />5) Try to add as many pictures from the air and on ground as possible.<br /><br />6) Since this map is intended to be studied, not used in flight feel, free to add as much information as possible.<br /><br />I hope that this helps everyone set up a map of their local soaring site! As always, if you have questions please post them and I'll get an answer out as soon as I can.<br /><br />Keep soaring,<br />Michael<br /></span>Michael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-81313950080977075812010-01-28T19:50:00.000-08:002010-01-31T20:04:56.154-08:00Day One of the 2010 SSA ConventionThe first day of the 2010 SSA convention was a resounding success. Thanks to everyone who was able to stop by my presentation. There were lots of great questions and I'll be spending the next few days tracking down the answers. If you have any questions or have comments please post them here.<br /><br />For those who are looking, here are the links to the maps i showed during the presentation:<br /><a href="http://tinyurl.com/yl3orgl">Evergreen Soaring</a><b><br /></b><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110809831428160373070.0004583d6163152dd0622&ll=37.07271,-117.971191&spn=6.44094,14.27124&t=p&z=7">Tehachapi Soaring</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>Keep soaring,<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-28130346201354683592010-01-24T20:24:00.001-08:002010-01-25T11:16:27.862-08:00Cross Country Planning Tool - Google MapsThis week's post is inspired by my upcoming visit to Little Rock, AR for the <a href="http://ssa.org/convention/schedule.asp">SSA Convention</a> where I will be giving a presentation Thursday at 10:00 in Ballroom C on the topic of Using Google Maps for cross country planning.<br /><br />I started flying cross country the weekend after I became a licensed glider pilot. It was always my goal, fly beyond glide of the airport. Luckily where I learned to fly cloud bases we always very low so I didn't need to go far to get out of glide. The issue was, as soon as I lost sight of the airport I lost sight of my confidence as well. I realized early on that to fly like the experienced pilots in my club I needed the knowledge of their experiences, but being wet behind the ears I didn't want to wait to gain it. At the time there was an old topo map in the clubhouse that provided some information - local airports, names of local mountains and ridges, etc - but it was in the club house and I couldn't study it every night. What I needed was an online map that contained all the local knowledge that I could gather from club members that could also support future soaring pilots looking to go cross country from our home field or the airports we visit throughout the year. What was developed is shown below; using Google's My Maps utility I employed all the members in my club to add a few bits of information to a map so that their knowledge would be available to all.<br /><br /><iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110809831428160373070.00047d8d94c41c64f224b&ll=48.224445,-121.836786&spn=1.028058,1.004244&t=p&output=embed" width="425" frameborder="0" height="350" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110809831428160373070.00047d8d94c41c64f224b&ll=48.224445,-121.836786&spn=1.028058,1.004244&t=p&source=embed" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;">Evergreen Soaring - Local Spots</a> in a larger map</small><br /><br />What I ended up with was a great repository for all the local knowledge that I gained on each flight along with what all the other pilots flying with me learned. Immediately we had a place to post pictures, information, and details about a new land out field; the same day someone lands out! It was easy to add markers for the local house thermals, the local ridge with the name that we call it - which doesn't appear on any map I have ever seen, land out fields were quickly populated, areas in the mountains where no glider pilot should willingly go, and hints on how to connect from one ridge to the next. When the winter wave season came around it became a great place to report wave entry points with wind directions to start a build a picture of the wave cross country possibilities. And for those who want to do more post flight analysis, the map can be exported along with any .klm file downloaded from the OLC to see if the pilot took advantage of any of the information presented on the map.<br /><br />Here is my impression of why every club and airport should start a soaring map online -<br /><ul><li>A lot of people doing a little work creates something big</li><li>Search for mountain peaks, lakes, other geographic points of navigation</li><li>The map is available to everyone, everywhere, all the time (<a href="http://my-maps.appspot.com/publicmaps">iPhone app</a>)</li><li>Glider specific airport information, i.e. Landing patters, glider staging</li><li>Local and distant Landout options, where and where not to land</li><li>Ability to add photos to landout descriptions</li><li>Accurate terrain features, enough detail to recognize peaks and topo overlays are available</li><li>Each user input has a date and a link to the editor to verify currency of data</li><li>How to make crossings, how to connect lift, when and where to start</li><li>Publish dimensions and locations of wave windows and wave procedure</li><li>Location specific safety procedures; Procedure alpha, VOR locations for Reno ops, high traffic areas, etc.</li><li>Current weather overlays, links to webcams, Google webcams, other utilities</li><li>Local backup copy can be saved</li><li>Map the story of great flight – <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=39.16301,-122.131963&daddr=&mra=mi&mrsp=0&sz=17&ie=UTF8&t=p&msa=0&msid=113616397973663389618.00045930ddde8e0b5f7dc&source=embed&ll=36.668419,-99.228516&spn=51.470319,114.169922&z=4">Alby’s Voyage</a></li></ul>If you are attending the SSA convention and would like to learn more please stop by Convention Center Ballroom C at 10:00am on Thursday, January 28th. If you can't make it, I will be posting the presentation here next weekend.<br /><br />Keep Soaring, but only if you know where you're going<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-42685164726615256332010-01-10T22:27:00.000-08:002010-01-18T07:28:27.133-08:00Developing a Soaring Model in FlightThis post was inspired by an email from a local pilot that files out of <a href="http://www.airnav.com/airport/L94">Mountain Valley Airport</a> here in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Tehachapi,+Ca&sll=35.132188,-118.448974&sspn=0.121015,0.338173&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Tehachapi,+Kern,+California&z=12">Tehachapi, Ca</a>. An excerpt is provide below.<br /><br />**************<br /><a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightbook.html?sp=2009&st=olc&rt=olc&pi=20851">Mark Grubb</a> says:<br />You need to build a model of the airmass + wind +<br />terrain + sun angle and then test the model by putting your airplane<br />in the regions you define (based on your model) as good energy lines.<br />Based on the evidence you collect, you adjust the model and re-test.<br />Do this efficiently for 8 hours and you have flown 1000 km.<br /><br />The most dangerous place to get into, IMO, is bumbling along, having<br />no idea of what is going on around you. Most of those "I flew into<br />massive sink / turbulence/Hand of God" are completely predictable if<br />one is acute enough to pick up on the many signals the world gives us.<br />Secondly, one must be skeptical and constantly testing the model.<br />Complacency is what has almost killed me twice. You must have<br />evidence that your model reflects reality or you are living in a<br />fantasy.<br />**************<br /><br />The concept is easy to describe but very difficult to master. I have been thinking about it more and more because I recently read <a href="http://www.ssa.org/magazine/archive/ViewIssue.aspx?year=2002&month=08">this</a> article by Gavin Wills on page 16 of Soaring-August 2002 (SSA membership required to access the article). The article wasn't written with the same intent as the quote from Mark, however the basic idea of building a picture of the sky ahead is at the crux of the article. Reading the article in this way has allowed me to extract a specific method for building a model accompanied by a very nice case study of it's implementation.<br /><br />To build an atmospheric model you need to ask yourself a series of questions covering 3 basic topics: (I use the acronym <span style="font-weight: bold;">ATE</span>)<br /><br />The state of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">A</span>irmass<br />The nature of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">T</span>errain ahead<br />Where is the <span style="font-weight: bold;">E</span>nergy going to be<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Airmass</span><br />To understand the airmass you are flying in you need to know the wind at all altitudes, and the height, stability and moisture content of the boundary layer. Here are some examples of questions you might be asking while determining the state of the air mass.<br /><br />What indications do I have for wind?<br />What has been the height of my past 3 thermals?<br />Is the day building or dying?<br />Is it a pre-frontal or post-frontal day?<br />How long until the day dies?<br />Are there Cu's ahead?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Terrain</span><br />Terrain is more critical in mountain flying than for a day of flying in the plains, but it is always important to search for order in the chaos of a cu riddled sky, or worse yet a blue sky, over a flat seaming featureless surface. Here are a few examples of questions you should be asking to understand the terrain (hopefully) far below you.<br /><br />What is the general direction of the most predominate terrain features (along track/cross track)?<br />Are there tall peaks, low ridges or a mix?<br />What is the surface like (Read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Country-Soaring-Helmut-Reichman/dp/1883813018">Reichmann</a> pg 4 - different heating rates of cereal crops vs trees etc)?<br />Are there options on you route (high ground vs low ground)?<br />Are there wind shelters to collect warm air on windy days?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Energy</span><br />Knowing where the atmosphere will have more or less energy is really the end goal of developing our model. The following questions require some additional information gathering but more so synthesis of the data collected in the Airmass and Terrain sections. Here are the questions you should be asking when thinking about Energy.<br /><br />Where has the sun been hitting the ground?<br />Are there obvious thermal triggers around (peaks, rocks, tractors, etc)?<br />is there Ridge lift, wave lift?<br />Can you stay up wind?<br />Can you stay to the high ground?<br />Are there large bodies of water near that such energy?<br />Is there smoke that will limit solar heating and energy reaching the atmosphere?<br /><br />You should be able to get to the point where this process takes only 30 seconds and requires minimum effort and minimum additional information gathering; because presumably you should have been paying attention to these things all along. I use the term, "you" collectively because this is specifically something I need to work on. Once you have built your atmospheric model use the tricks (stay up wind, run ridge lift, etc) you have learned previously to exploit the energy available in the air. And continuously recheck you model to make sure things haven't changed.<br /><br />The next post will be to support my presentation at the SSA convention in Little Rock, Arkansas. I will be presenting on using Google Maps as a tool for cross country prep and also how to share tribal knowledge with the My Map utility. Until then...<br /><br />Keep soaring,<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-79748555390625191422010-01-05T20:55:00.000-08:002010-01-05T22:02:25.707-08:00Soaring While Still on the GroundSoaring is one of those activities where the anticipation is so great that it's hard not to spend your days daydreaming about it. On a recent trip from <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Harrisburg,+Dauphin,+Pennsylvania&daddr=Binghamton,+Ny&geocode=FSSHZgIdPtZq-ymXnge4FsHIiTHVRo0SyEJuuw%3BFf9fggIdapV5-ynRt63fcu_aiTF_M-33A5ePBg&hl=en&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=41.181162,-76.406943&sspn=3.778521,10.821533&ie=UTF8&ll=41.244772,-76.036377&spn=1.887472,5.410767&z=8">Harrisburgh, Pa to Binghamton, Ny</a> I had an opportunity to do just that and I learn a lot in the process.<br /><br />I left Harrisburgh at 11:15 on December 27th, had I been soaring it would have been a sled ride; but the air was crisp and clear and seasonably warm. I didn't think much about soaring until I saw the fist hints of convention around 12:15 near Pine Grove, Pa. This is where we introduce Weather Underground's historic <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KAVP/2009/12/27/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA">data</a> for the 27th in Scranton, Pa (the middle point of my journey). The data shows that the winds were between 6 and 16 mph, and the high was 43F with a dew point of 30F. At 12:15, when I spotted the first Cu, the temperature was about 39F. it was low, about 2500' agl appropriate for the temp-dew point spread. What was interesting was how fast the day developed. Here is a sequence of photos for the 1.5 hours following the first Cu spotting.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibRUOcwhu4tt0Nj8YjJhov4FbICURcFkz7q8JB7bvbXtHNuK9HEmhBHuoUzLLX7_dIHR-dXVoYCjv8j8TuXe_i4Kaz0CYT_TC6seDlTgw9vJq-uZBMpX1BkuNY8a7xb93ewT7UWHjaRQ/s1600-h/1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibRUOcwhu4tt0Nj8YjJhov4FbICURcFkz7q8JB7bvbXtHNuK9HEmhBHuoUzLLX7_dIHR-dXVoYCjv8j8TuXe_i4Kaz0CYT_TC6seDlTgw9vJq-uZBMpX1BkuNY8a7xb93ewT7UWHjaRQ/s320/1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423497306283390690" border="0" /></a>Pine Grove, Pa - looking north at 12:15<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsZZUziX7gzwsctiGQsi0KC6ARCVE80d-EBWnJd0V7yBCP1g6CwrSLtXQXN-VTt3QugjymGs3oRrJjspMDe-VPbE1i-1_BCNiOvzESQuKHbixBAfxo6TQGIfH3N54Ty5A6lLodKBzl7c/s1600-h/2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsZZUziX7gzwsctiGQsi0KC6ARCVE80d-EBWnJd0V7yBCP1g6CwrSLtXQXN-VTt3QugjymGs3oRrJjspMDe-VPbE1i-1_BCNiOvzESQuKHbixBAfxo6TQGIfH3N54Ty5A6lLodKBzl7c/s320/2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423497778685983218" border="0" /></a>Minersville, Pa - Looking west at 12:45<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2kCR0yxRutqJnfDczHPwGgdyP7JY3whPx9787vZlK9AbUJaYXMeROV6uWlS_8mOD8R6HH2hCpBFCFv09y0dGbJB8sGNwomQsNBL6_gERWKPENEeWTiBcyMFoUbyG4wMN8yPOwOZT8Tg/s1600-h/5.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2kCR0yxRutqJnfDczHPwGgdyP7JY3whPx9787vZlK9AbUJaYXMeROV6uWlS_8mOD8R6HH2hCpBFCFv09y0dGbJB8sGNwomQsNBL6_gERWKPENEeWTiBcyMFoUbyG4wMN8yPOwOZT8Tg/s320/5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423498443600996066" border="0" /></a>Hazleton, Pa - Looking north at 1:30<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Looking at the photos, it is interesting to see how quickly the day developed, and how much development there turned out the be. The south west wind formed streets on the predominately SW to NE running Appalachian mountains helped by the low sun angle all day. What is missing from the photo sequence is how quickly the day ended. The historical data shows the peak temperature of 42F at 1:00pm with a quick drop after that. By the time i arrived at my destination of Binghamton, Ny the day was well over.<br /><br />While I was watching the clouds, I used the opportunity to run a number of different experiments. The results were obviously difficult to verify but by not having to worry about flying the airplane (only driving the car) I was able to spend to time thinking what I should be thinking while flying. Here is an example: in the second picture, how would you get from your current position to the best cloud, which is the best cloud, and what is the expected thermal strength under that cloud? These are all questions that the best pilots will know how to answer, using this light workload time to think about how to answer them is time on the ground that is time well spent.<br /><br />If you are interested like me, there were only 7 flights in the US on December 27th, 6 were in California/Nevada and 1 in <a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=1112588">North Carolina</a>.<br /><br />Keep soaring - even if it's on the ground,<br />Michael<br /></div></div>Michael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-81980109867979417682009-12-06T20:38:00.000-08:002009-12-14T22:17:59.044-08:00Back from Australia and the OLC EquationMy trip to Australia was a big success. I flew with Jim Staniforth in Lake Keepit's beautiful Duo Discus. We flew for 24 total hours over 6 days. Flying a 500km task, a 400km task, 3 300km tasks and one local area flight. It was a great learning experience, flying in very differing weather conditions. Lesson learned - fly dual with another cross country pilot whenever you can. There is no better way I can think of bettering your flying.<br /><br />On to an equally interesting topic. I was flying for the first time this year from a soaring site in the US where I had a chance to place in the top 50 in the <a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/daily.html?rt=olc&sc=&c=C0&df=&st=olc&sp=2009">OLC</a> distance competition (<a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/plainJsp.html?prefix_jsp=rules#olc,league">rules</a>). It raised an interesting question, what would my average point score have to be to place in the top 50? I found the results interesting and I thought I would share them here.<br /><br />To my surprise, the average score for the first 200 pilots in the United States is defined, very accurately, by an exponential equation. The equation is:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=y+%3D+-132.9*ln%28x%29%2B1100.9+from+0+to+200">Average flight points = -132.9*ln(Your standing)+1100.9</a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Note: ln is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_logarithm">natural log</a></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The equation is found by importing data from the top 200 pilots in the US into excel and applying a simple curve fit to the data. The R^2 value, a measure of how well the equation fits the data (1 being a perfect fit), is .996! Looking at the data, the issue actually comes from the variance in the top 3 pilots, who usually fly predominately in wave or ridge lift. This represents a break from the generally homogeneous population of pilots posting mostly thermal flights with some wave and ridge. If you remove the top 3 pilots the equation holds true to a R^2 value of .999! So what does this mean? I take away that the general population of soaring pilots is fairly homogeneous and that there is a core group of top pilots who combine excellent flying skill with superb weather to achieve great flight scores.<br /><br />This result actually encouraged me to run the same analysis on data from 2008 and 2007. The results were equally exciting. Each year can be explained by a simple exponential function which has good correlation to the the real data, however the change in the curve from year to year has a clear trend. See figure 1:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj58QbOla5bMsZUAJyciAtqhkF0QHDvQGbenEA5v0Ze5tcWQZabGC7LextZzMqG68JLuya4Bu4hFoN_I4Nq6e5R4N8OEAAO4NvE4LHYF1JSSF2RcxqlWavKkclOMTf26GvIjB43d4deTU/s1600-h/Figure+1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj58QbOla5bMsZUAJyciAtqhkF0QHDvQGbenEA5v0Ze5tcWQZabGC7LextZzMqG68JLuya4Bu4hFoN_I4Nq6e5R4N8OEAAO4NvE4LHYF1JSSF2RcxqlWavKkclOMTf26GvIjB43d4deTU/s320/Figure+1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415340235832094098" border="0" /></a>Figure 1<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />What figure 1 shows that the OLC in the US for cross country distance is getting more competitive. If you remove the top 3 pilots from each year ,I call this the <a href="http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightbook.html?sp=2009&st=olc&rt=olc&pi=14320">Jim</a> <a href="http://www.jpaviation.us/">Payne<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></a> factor, the results point ever more to a general trend of increased competition (i.e. moving from #15 in the us to #10 takes more points each year). Also, to be in the top 50 requires the pilot to average ~25 more points per flight. Congratulations US pilots, you are getting better at flying, or more realistically more pilots are posting to the OLC, either way both are good things!<br /><br />For you international pilots out there if you would like to perform this analysis for your country feel free to contact me and i can send you the excel files to get the results. Also this will not be my last post regarding the OLC, I have does some research developing a tool to locate thermals from multiple flight and map "hot spots" as a function of time of year and time of day. Not a new idea, but plenty of good results non the less!<br /><br />Keep soaring (and posting to the OLC)<br />Michael<br /></div></div></div></div>Michael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-9751775819244256382009-11-18T21:14:00.000-08:002009-11-18T21:19:54.061-08:00Off to Australia...All,<br /><br />I'm sorry that I missed posting last Sunday's entry on the secret OLC equation, I still have that information but I will be holding off until I return from my soaring adventure to Australia. I'll be flying a Duo Discus with a friend of mine out of <a href="http://www.keepitsoaring.com/LKSC/">Lake Keepit Soaring Club</a>. Hope for hot temps and strong thermals! Look for lots of photos and maybe a few videos of the adventure when I return.<br /><br />Keep soaring (even if it's winter where you live),<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-32545563323136128842009-11-08T18:17:00.000-08:002009-11-15T16:55:52.786-08:00Total Energy Compensation Explained: Part II<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbe7UKfc2Bj0DgAwOANogm_wjQS-UINLehcYEWujbX4bdvO4172vQqLYjqy1aBmnU-rA2YEUzT1V0128SJ09w1XXc4QP5ZyQtCxcYteiBElY5azxoc2-PXgL7eeLhyphenhyphenSnqaCUOMWECMBEY/s1600-h/TP+Probe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 407px; height: 63px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbe7UKfc2Bj0DgAwOANogm_wjQS-UINLehcYEWujbX4bdvO4172vQqLYjqy1aBmnU-rA2YEUzT1V0128SJ09w1XXc4QP5ZyQtCxcYteiBElY5azxoc2-PXgL7eeLhyphenhyphenSnqaCUOMWECMBEY/s320/TP+Probe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401937793155491010" border="0" /></a><br />We left off <a href="http://soaringlab.blogspot.com/2009/11/total-energy-compensation-explained.html">last week</a> with the conclusion that for accurate total energy compensation a known coefficient of pressure of -1 is required somewhere on the aircraft. This weeks post will cover how to utilize that conclusion to give accurate total energy variometer readings. Today's post relies heavily on information gathered from NASA Technical Memorandum 73928, which can be found <a href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19760020138_1976020138.pdf">here</a>.<br /><br />A topic often covered in introduction to aerodynamics courses is the study of the flow field around a cylinder <a href="http://www.imaph.tu-bs.de/lehre/99/irro/cilindro_e.html"> Link 1</a>,<a href="http://www.aoe.vt.edu/%7Edevenpor/aoe3054/manual/expt3/text.html"> Link 2</a>. The body of knowledge regarding the velocity and pressure fields that surround a cylinder in cross flow is quite extensive. This body of work can be exploited for our study of the total energy probe given that the coefficient of pressure on the aft side of a cylinder is -1 under specific conditions. Below is a graph taken from <a href="http://www.aoe.vt.edu/%7Edevenpor/aoe3054/manual/expt3/text.html">this</a> resource. This information is telling us that only for sub critical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_number">Reynolds</a> numbers [less than 1.86x10^5] is the coefficient of pressure -1 on the aft side of the cylinder. <img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2s_2qpa7NzcC9HMk2ll-yDGAN2zI3rGYT0G1jIzEJei-dBnNU7aIfzNULxunJ_YoYVE7-K1ZM-N8i8tjPkbcyBGw40nHpIScWvbucLOzs2zd4YS8H13InL-k4In6gTaCX5fLXqB68BRs/s320/coefficent+of+pressure+2.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402351075348979010" border="0" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8AoDo2EEfSQqksKX4B7Ghlk_dWaQ4mL1-pytMg8S6EoqD-QPnJ1ZQ4go_qqqkDhwTp4fnr3sPoXTqLU8QBUrJXA-ULaPe767yvgRoQ29ruQv2w-R8elBo_LdVEbn6-je57XmUsBikCg/s1600-h/coefficent+of+pressure.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8AoDo2EEfSQqksKX4B7Ghlk_dWaQ4mL1-pytMg8S6EoqD-QPnJ1ZQ4go_qqqkDhwTp4fnr3sPoXTqLU8QBUrJXA-ULaPe767yvgRoQ29ruQv2w-R8elBo_LdVEbn6-je57XmUsBikCg/s320/coefficent+of+pressure.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402351130119023154" border="0" /></a>It was this basic conclusion that led to the development of the small diameter total energy probe that we are familiar with today, however the detailed design of the probe was only developed after significant wind tunnel and empirical research. The following conclusions, taken directly from NASA TH X-73928, describes the other subtleties associated with an accurate total energy probe. These should give the average reader the tools to check and make sure their total energy probes are set up correctly. <ol><li>Cylindrical tube, diameter o f 3/16- to 1/4-inch.</li><li>Tube end squared off with very slight bevel of sharp edge.</li><li>A f t facing pressure orifice , adrilled hole about 1/3 the tube diameter (1/16- to 3/32-inch).</li><li>Center of hole located a t a distance two times the tube diameter from the end of the tube (3/8- t o 1/2-inch).</li><li>Probe swept forward about 20 degrees with respect to flow direction.</li><li>Probe mounted in free-stream air, extending a minimum of 5 to 6 inches from the aircraft.</li><li>Vertical tail location good; aft fuselage acceptable.</li></ol>Additional important is the rage of accurate operation:<br /><ol><li>40-150 mph</li><li>sea level to 20,000'</li><li>Normal yaw and pitch attitudes (+/- 10 deg yaw, -5 to -25 deg pitch, hence the forward bend in the TE Probe to get a net +/- 5 degree invariance to pitch)</li></ol>Most importantly, the total drag of the TE probe was found to be around 1/10 of a pound at 100 mph.<br /><br />As important as the TE probe, the capacity bottle that is on the other side of the variometer needs to meet the design assumption made in last weeks post. If you remember we needed to assume constant density to develop the equations that allow up to exploit the properties if a Cp = -1. For that assumption to hold true we need to ensure the volume of air contained in the capacity bottle changes temperature (density) as slowly as possible. This is achieved by putting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_wool">chore girl</a> steel wool pads in the capacity bottles. The steel provides a good heat capacity to supply and absorb temperature differences.<br /><br />Hopefully these posts will help you better understand the mechanics underway in the instruments used in soaring flight and help trouble shoot any potential issues in the future. Next weeks post will cover the mechanics of the online contest World Champion contest and how it proves that the number of quality of X/C soaring pilots in the United States is increasing. Until then...<br /><br />Keep soaring,<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-47541694722462784742009-11-01T19:28:00.000-08:002009-11-08T18:17:16.509-08:00Total Energy Compensation Explained: Part IMost every pilot will tell you that a good total energy (TE) compensated variometer is essential for soaring flight. But how and why does it work? Total energy compensation, in the form commonly used in sailplanes today (capacity bottle and bent probe), was developed and patented by Oran Nicks (<a href="http://tinyurl.com/TE-patent">Patent Link</a>) in 1977. Prior to that, G.E. Moore had done extensive research (<a href="http://www.betsybyars.com/guy/soaring_symposia/69-vario.html">Link 1</a>, <a href="http://www.betsybyars.com/guy/soaring_symposia/70-vario.html">Link 2</a>) investigating a way to combine both pitot and static pressure signals to compensate changes in static pressure (height gain/loss) with changes in airspeed (pitot pressure) to give the pilot an indication of the energy state, or total energy gain/loss, of the sailplane. The problem was that the device was complicated, expensive, and needed to be tested and adjusted to achieve accurate readings. It was Oran Nicks that saved us from this situation by discovering that the total energy of a sailplane is related to a unique pressure that can easily be measured independent of the pitot and static pressure input. The following proof will derive that pressure. For further reading see page 149 in Helmut Reichmann's <span style="font-style:italic;">Cross-Country Soaring</span>. <br /><br />Problem: We want to find a pressure (P*) that directly correlates with the total Energy (TE) of the sailplane.<br /><br />Given: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_pressure">Dynamic pressure</a> (P_dynamic), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_pressure">Static Pressure</a> (P_stat)<br /><br />Find: The change in Total Energy of the sailplane (delta_TE) as a function of an measurable change in pressure delta_P*.<br /><br />Assume: We are flying in still air in a glider with an infinite glide ratio (no energy is lost to drag). In a glider with an infinite glide ratio, all kinetic energy (KE) can be transferred to potential energy (PE) and back to KE with out any losses (KE<==>PE, delta_TE=0).<br /><br />Proof:<br /><br />1) TE=KE+PE (total energy is the sum of the kinetic and potential energy)<br />2) delta_TE=delta_KE+delta_PE (the change in total energy is the sum of the change in both kinetic and potential energy)<br />3) 0 = delta_KE + delta_PE (since we assumed delta_TE = 0)<br />4) 0 = 1/2*m*delta_v^2 + m*g*delta_h (delta_KE = change in dynamic pressure [airspeed], delta_PE = change in static pressure [altitude], m = mass of air, g = gravitational constant)<br />5) 0 = 1/2*rho*delta_v^2 + rho*g*delta_h (4 divided by volume of air, rho = air density [assumed constant])<br />6) 0 = delta_P_dynamic - delta_P_stat (We know dynamic pressure is 1/2*rho*v^2, we also know static pressure is -rho*g*h, <span style="font-style:italic;">negative </span>because pressure decreases with increasing h)<br />7) 0 = -delta_P_dynamic + delta_P_stat (multiply both sides by -1)<br /><br />Read <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_coefficient">this </a>to understand the source of equation 8.<br /><br />8) Cp* = (P* - P_stat)/(P_dynamic) (the coefficient of pressure Cp* is the difference between the target pressure (P*) and static pressure divided by dynamic pressure.<br />9) Cp* = (delta_P* - delta_P_stat)/(delta_P_dynamic) (take the change in pressures)<br />10) delta_P* = (Cp*) * delta_P_dynamic + delta_P_stat (solve 9 for delta_P*)<br />11) if Cp* = -1, delta_p* = -delta_P_dynamic + delta_P_stat <br /><br />This is where we see that if Cp* = -1, equation 11 and equation 7 are the same. This is what we want because delta_P* should represent the change in total energy, which we have already said is zero. <br /><br />You can re-derive these equation without the assumption that delta_TE = 0 and you will find that delta_TE = -delta_P* (the negative originates for step 7). This was the amazing discovery that allowed for simple total energy compensation. delta_P*, the change in pressure associated with a coefficient of pressure of -1 represents the change in total energy of the sailplane. The result that a Cp* of -1 is required for total energy compensation is the reason for the shape of the total energy probe. One final point is required, rho (air density) was assumed constant in step 5, which is not exactly the case, however additional steps can be made in the design of a TE system to help achieve a relatively constant air density. Those techniques will be address along with how a Cp of -1 relates to the design of the TE probe in a future blog post.<br /><br />This proof is a bit lengthy, however it is was an important discovery to soaring, please post any questions or comments and I'll do my best to answer them.<br /><br />Keep soaring,<br />MichaelMichael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222460026276799645.post-2929810206805525572009-10-24T19:43:00.000-07:002009-11-10T16:25:48.999-08:00The First Thermal is Always the Hardest<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> 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{mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> With 170 hours in the cockpit this summer, I have greatly expanded both my depth and breadth of soaring experiences.<span style=""> </span>But as I stand around the glider port here in Tehachapi, Ca I often cross paths with pilots who have been flying longer than I have even been alive; I clearly have a long way to go!<span style=""> </span>So the question becomes; how do you catch up without losing your job for taking too many “blue flu” days?<span style=""> </span>I believe the answer lays in a rule of thumb from back in college, “for every hour spent in class you should spend 2 hours studying”.<span style=""> </span>So I figure I need to spend 340 hours this winter studying soaring. <span style=""> </span>Lucky for me, along with a love of airplanes and flying I was born an engineer, and engineers love to analyze data. <span style=""> </span>Now that the sun is setting earlier and earlier, the thermals are drying up, and the winds are starting to blow I have more time to research and read about the science of soaring flight.<span style=""> </span>That’s where the idea for this blog originated; <i style="">The Soaring Laboratory</i> will capture all the interesting ideas, data, and results that I develop or find as I press forward with my study of soaring.<span style=""> </span>Some articles will be original works, some will rely heavily on the work done by others, and some will bring together the voices various pilots on soaring technique.<span style=""> </span>The articles will follow the rigor required of scientific study, however great effort will be made for the major points and any conclusions to be clearly stated for all to understand.<span style=""> </span>I may even add humor if I think people are actually reading what I am writing.
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<br /> For an example of the type of information to be presented I would like to share a website that I found very interesting.<span style=""> </span>It answers the question, “what would it look like if a large selection of soaring flights from 1997 to 2003 from around the world were plotted on one map?”<span style=""> </span>The website (<a href="http://www.pfg.dk/termikanalyse/">htt</a><a href="http://www.pfg.dk/termikanalyse/">p://www.pfg.dk/termikanalyse/</a>) is the product of a Denmark soaring club called <i style="">Polytechnic Flight Group</i>, I would suggest using this <a href="http://tinyurl.com/PFG-English">link</a> for the translated version of their website.<span style=""> </span>The source of the plotted flight data is unclear for years 1997-2002.<span style=""> </span>The 2003 data appears to be from the OLC and amazing learning resource and a topic of a future blog post.<span style=""> </span>For now enjoy sifting through the data; I find it very interesting the amazing disparity in the number of flight in Germany as compared to the rest of the world.<span style=""> </span>For the time period studied, Germany accounted for 20912 flights, about 2 times the 2<sup>nd</sup> place country, Austria.<span style=""> </span>However because the data source and collection methods are ambiguous only general trends can evaluated.<span style=""> </span>Here is an image of all flights in North America.
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<br />Keep soaring,
<br />Michael<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_v2LxHP5pfvjmB9llga7xkvGyv8PXHA9dQHytELUcuYuTDbC2LTMlvRWsn8KYDnu88l_6yQprpZGeMaVe85UzEaBup8NLeRiOc1Qmc3W8y09VGDoobHCTTaRhYBwhr8QdJ7QclJYAK3k/s1600-h/N_AMERICA_for_blog.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_v2LxHP5pfvjmB9llga7xkvGyv8PXHA9dQHytELUcuYuTDbC2LTMlvRWsn8KYDnu88l_6yQprpZGeMaVe85UzEaBup8NLeRiOc1Qmc3W8y09VGDoobHCTTaRhYBwhr8QdJ7QclJYAK3k/s320/N_AMERICA_for_blog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396366289090238178" border="0" /></a><i style=""><o:p></o:p></i>
<br /><i style=""><o:p></o:p></i>Michael Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09670179331875825543noreply@blogger.com1